USAG Hessen Army Base in Hanau, Germany

Former base for archive purpose only. Not active anymore

Contact Information

Phone: 011-49-711-680-113

DSN: 314-430-1110

USAG Hessen used to be a military garrison operated by the United States of America in Germany. It was one of the dozens of such co-bases located in the central and southern parts of Germany. Hessen was placed in the middle of the country, close to a very cultural human community – only a few km away from Hanau. Although the base was run by the Americans, it was part of a wide net of military bases under the jurisdiction of NATO, run by the German regulations. The primary mission of this base was to support the military operations conducted everywhere in the world, by its possibilities. However, just like most other similar bases in Germany, this one was never part of any major conflict. It was too insignificant to be involved in such operations. At the same time, the conflicts in Europe were not as popular as those in the Middle East, therefore its location is not the most strategical one for the latest invasions led by the United States of America.

History

Without any notable events throughout the decades, USAG Hessen has a very poor history, especially under the American domination. The base was built during World War II, under the Third Reich. Since the German plan to conquer Europe was going well, at some point the authorities felt the necessity of improving the local defense and providing more military force for the attack. Therefore, the war department “infested” the country with dozens of more or less important bases. However, the German domination didn’t last for too long. A few years after the base was established, a few fatal mistakes forced the Germans to withdraw from the war. In 1945, the United States of America took over the base without any major casualties. The first units joined the facility right away.

As soon as World War II ended, most such bases were reconstructed and reinforced by the German prisoners of war. At the same time, they were taken through a massive round of updates and improvements. At some point, USAG Hessen was among the largest and most advanced such facilities in Germany. But as years passed by, the Americans figured out that so many bases are expensive to maintain, so they stopped a little their improvement spree. Over the years, this base ended up as a small and less significant military base in the central Germany.

A BRAC (Base Realignment And Closure) commission dealing with the bases outside of the United States of America scheduled it for inactivation and closure. Most of the troops were deployed at other larger bases, as well as the entire array of operations. The end came on August, 7-th, 2008, through a major ceremony held by both American and German superiors. It was a sad day for the local communities.

Units

Over the years, there were just a few units that floated around USAG Hessen. The most important ones were the 414-th Base Support Battalion and the 104-th Area Support Group. Some less important associate units also joined for small periods of time.